Southern Dan Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 So I am trying to plot out the next couple of years and I want to try out each class of ship but can only do two cruises a year max at this point in my life. It's been a long time since I've sailed Royal Caribbean. I was on Majesty, Splendor and Rhapsody back in the 90's and I'm going on Symphony in November and Voyager next July in the Mediterranean. I'm eyeing Freedom for the New Years Cruise in 2025 as it is the only long itinerary since it will be doing short Caribbean next winter cycle. Icon Class is just too expensive right now so I'm at least 2-3 years away from trying that out and I feel that should be the last class I travel on. Quantum Class is tricky because they are primarily Alaska, Asia/AUS or leave from NYC which isn't something I'm not down with right now. Alaska would be great but my wife booked an NCL cruise this August so that isn't an option...maybe when they leave out of LA in 2025/2026. So that leaves Radiance Class...I know there are a lot of grizzly cruise vets up in here and I want to know your favorite ships in this class or if any are better than the others. Thanks in advance for your insight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 Radiance ships are all largely identical aren't they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Dan Posted March 22 Author Report Share Posted March 22 I know there aren't too many variations but wanted to hear from people who have sailed a bunch on the ships to see if some are better than others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesszy94 Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 Check this video by @Matt to see the differences between each Radiance class ship - starts at 8:04 "Best" is subjective, what might be the best for someone else might not be the best for other people. Just have a look around each ship and see what you think you might like/dislike - but smokeybandit said, they should be nearly carbon copies of each other save a few differences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 I've always favored Brilliance and Serenade. Both were updated with LED lighting in the Centrum and a few other discrete upgrades that may be missed by many. Radiance always feels a little tired to me in contrast to her sisters. I still sail Radiance and would again in a heartbeat but to be honest and fair it does feel the most tired to me. Jewel is probably my least favorite and that is in a large part due to the NASCAR bar. This bar is open to the casino so basically it's a smoking area. Good luck enjoying a drink if you don't smoke. The others in class have a distinct pub that has passages to the casino but are not wide open to the casino. The first few feet of these pubs may get smokey but the bar area of these pubs do not. The NASCAR bar on Jewel just feels very dated and is usually empty except when a show lets out and transitory guests going somewhere else stop to acquire a beverage. There are subtle differences such as a Centrum staircase on some, deck 11 balcony cabins on one but not the others, an oceanview suite off the Centrum on some but not others, Centrum hanging art on one, and the number, location and types of specialty dining venues varies. Having said all that I do have 27 nights coming up on Jewel so even though her NASCAR bar sucks it's not enough to prevent me from sailing her. Itineraries matter. The ship less so. They are more alike than different. Pick based on itinerary and price. KristiZ, rjweber3, Neesa and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 I had hopes for that pit stop bar the first time on Jewel since it was March madness. No such luck for the reasons mentioned above Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monctonguy Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 I have sailed Brilliance a few times...and have Serenade booked for next February. They are all pretty similar, the only thing that I would say is that with no promenade and being smaller than Freedom class, it defn has a little more laid back, quiet relaxing feel to the cruise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steverk Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 I've been on Radiance, Jewel and Serenade. There's almost no difference between them. Radiance has the Samba grill, which is a plus. People have commented about the pit stop bar on Jewel. Since I don't drink, I never even thought about this! One downside on Jewel. Room 4014 is generally my favorite cabin on the Radiance class. It's very convenient, quiet and one of the cheapest cabins on the ship. However, Jewel has a loose deck plate in the hall just outside the door. When anyone steps on it, it makes a loud sound like a big bass drum. rjweber3 and WAAAYTOOO 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 One thing about this class - they have the smokiest casinos from across the fleet. Majesty used to be really bad. With her gone the Radiance class take the award for smokiest casinos. They try to place a small portable HEPA style standalone filter somewhere and call that the non-smoking area but ships this old don't have the ventilation systems in the casino and as you can imagine a small portable standalone filter in a wide open smoking space accomplishes nothing. No ship in this class has a better or less smoky casino. Learn the deck plans and find another way forward or aft to reach the theater if smoke bothers you. WAAAYTOOO and rjweber3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shari Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 I have sailed on Radiance and Brilliance. Radiance still has the staircase in the centrum area while Brilliance does not. Also, Brilliance has closed off the area by the pool tables for offices while Radiance still has seating in that area. I prefer Radiance over Brilliance because it has not been "updated" to include more cabins so it feels more open. rjweber3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Dan Posted March 22 Author Report Share Posted March 22 Thank you everyone, appreciate the feedback! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted March 22 Report Share Posted March 22 I've done serenade and jewel and have jewel and brilliance booked this year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pattycruise Posted March 25 Report Share Posted March 25 On 3/22/2024 at 9:48 AM, twangster said: I've always favored Brilliance and Serenade. Both were updated with LED lighting in the Centrum and a few other discrete upgrades that may be missed by many. Radiance always feels a little tired to me in contrast to her sisters. I still sail Radiance and would again in a heartbeat but to be honest and fair it does feel the most tired to me. Jewel is probably my least favorite and that is in a large part due to the NASCAR bar. This bar is open to the casino so basically it's a smoking area. Good luck enjoying a drink if you don't smoke. The others in class have a distinct pub that has passages to the casino but are not wide open to the casino. The first few feet of these pubs may get smokey but the bar area of these pubs do not. The NASCAR bar on Jewel just feels very dated and is usually empty except when a show lets out and transitory guests going somewhere else stop to acquire a beverage. There are subtle differences such as a Centrum staircase on some, deck 11 balcony cabins on one but not the others, an oceanview suite off the Centrum on some but not others, Centrum hanging art on one, and the number, location and types of specialty dining venues varies. Having said all that I do have 27 nights coming up on Jewel so even though her NASCAR bar sucks it's not enough to prevent me from sailing her. Itineraries matter. The ship less so. They are more alike than different. Pick based on itinerary and price. Not sure the last time you were on Jewel but I found recently that the smokey smell was not noticeable (unless I was immune to it being a gambler) when sitting on the non smoking exit from the casino. The bar was used quite a bit too,however it was football season and some big games were on, it was very difficult to walk through it! I personally feel the bar does not fit with the rest of the quaintness of Jewel. It's just "in your face". Watched a number of shows in the theater, LOVE the theater. Unfortunately they need to fix some of those seats, so if you go, be prepared to be like Goldilocks until you find a seat that is '"just right". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted March 26 Report Share Posted March 26 On 3/22/2024 at 9:48 AM, twangster said: I've always favored Brilliance and Serenade Me too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjweber3 Posted March 26 Report Share Posted March 26 We've cruised on all the R class except Jewel multiple times each. We prefer the smaller, more intimate ships. If a ship is going where you want to go at a time you can cruise, just go for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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